Self-closing nonreleasing fluid actuated valve



Patented Jan. 9, 1951 SELF-CLOSIN G NONRELEASING FLtIID- ACTUATED VALVEJohn A. Danielson, Richmond, Calif.

Application March 29, 1948, Serial No. 17,656

- 3 Claims.

' The present invention relates to improvements in a self-closing,non-releasing, fluid-actuated valve. It consists of the combinations,constructions and arrangements of parts, as hereinafter described andclaimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a selfclosing, non-releasing,fluid-actuated valve which is especially designed for use in the airbrake systems ofvehicles. on a two-way automatic check valve and signal,Serial -No. 625,845, filed October 31, 1945, I disclose a; valveespecially designed to shut off automatically the air flowing through acompressed air hose when the hose breaksor becomes disconnected from apneumatic tool. The hose is prevented from whipping and doing damage toproperty and people. A bleed passage in the valve feeds a small quantityof air into the hose so that a fixing of the break in the hose or theattachment of the hose to the air tool, would permit air pressure to bebuilt up in the line quickly, whereupon the valve would openautomatically.

In using a valve on the air brake systems of vehicles, a different setof problems were presented. It was necessary to design a valve whoseoperation was not alfected by the swinging, swaying or jolting of thevehicle as it moved over the ground or turned sharp curves at relativelyhigh speeds. Furthermore, the valve must be designed to close and stayclosed when once the line in which it was mounted, broke or becamedisconnected.

The principal object of my invention is thereforto provide a valve thatwill close automatically when the line in which it forms a part, breaksor becomes disconnected, and remains closed, novel means being providedto prevent any movement of the vehicle, which carries the valve, fromcausing the valve to close accidentally. The valve permits a sudden flowof air to pass therethrough when the operator applies the brakes, but assoon as the air line leading to a brake mechanism breaks or becomesdisconnected, the valve will instantly close and remain closed. Thevalve needs to be reset before it can again be used.

. A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the typedescribed which will permanently shut off the air to a broken air lineand each time the air brakes are used thereafter, will sound a warningsignal, indicating to the driver that one of the brakes is notoperating.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,and the novel fea- In my copending application 2 tures of the devicewill be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a partof this application, in

which:

Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of an airbrake system for a vehicleand indicates where my automatic closing valves would be placed in.

the system;

' Figure 2 is a longitudinal section taken along;

the line II-II of Figure 3;-

Figure 3 is a right hand end view of Figure 2;:' Figure 4 is atransverse section taken along the? line IV-IV of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a transverse, section taken along the line VV of Figure 7;

Figure 6 is a top plan view of Figure 2; and Figure 7 is a view similarto Figure 2 and illustrates how the ball valve is permanently re the end2 of the casing and communicating with a compartment 3. The upperportion of the compartment extends above the inlet opening and thecompartment is also provided with a pit or recess that is madesemispherical in shape so as to receive a ball valve B. A secondcompartment. 5 is provided in the casing and is separated from the firstcompartment by an opening 6 that is only large enough to permit the ballvalve B to pass therethrough. It will be noted from Fig-' ure 2 that thetop of the opening 6 indicated at 6a is disposed at a lower level thanthe tops 30!. and 5a of the compartments 3 and 5, respectively.

Figure 4 illustrates how the top 6a of the opening 6 is rounded so as toconform to the curvature of the ball valve B. The'side walls 62) of theopening are tangent to the ends of the curved top Ba and parallel thesides 1 of the casing. The bottom of the opening 6 is indicated at 60.and this bottom surface parallels the lower wall 8 of the casing. I termthe opening 6 a needle eye because the eye is slightly larger than thediameter of the ball B and the arrangement is such that the ball isprevented frgm accidentally more ing through the eye when the casing ismoved suddenly due to the swinging, swaying or jolting movement of thevehicle as it travels over the round.

Reference again to Figure 4 when taken in conjunction with Figure 2shows the compartment 3 provided with a wall do that extends upwardlyfrom the pit 4 and this wall has its surface extending at right angles:to the axis of the opening or eye 6. The lower edge 60 of the openingis spaced at least as high as the top of the ball valve B when thelatter rests in the pit. The wall ia will therefore act as a dam Qr ob.-struction and will prevent the ball from moving into the compartment 5when the vehicle makes a sharp turn at a relatively high speed andthecentrifugal force tends to move the ballv valve to the right in Figure2. It will require a sudden flow of air of suflicient volume and for .along enough time to lift the ball valve from the pit and-project itthrough-the opening or we be.- fore the ball will move.into-the-.compartment 5.

Thenormahppsition-of theball is;shownin full lines-in Figure .2 where itis received in the pit 4i and covers an outlet bore 9 that is used togive a warning signal whenthe ball-uncovers the bore and air issuestherethrough during application-of the air brakes to the vehicle. Thedash line Bl in Figure 2 shows the initialmovement of; the ballvalvezcausedfby the fiowlof air through the valve when the airline tothe "brake is broken and the operator, applies-"the brakesv to thevehicle. The dotdash --line B2 indicates the movement of the ballthrough the opening or eye'while'thesmaller dash line B3 in the samefigure illustrates the positionof the ball when it closesthevalve.

:1. have discovered in experimenting with the valveuin 'my-co-pendingapplication S. N 625,845.

previously mentioned, that upon sudden reduction-of' ;pressure due to abreak, :the ballfs path to-its seat is dependent upon -th e "lengthof-hose betweenythe safetyvalve'and'the break. For instance-with a,short hose, that is,'-;when-t he break issubstantially; at the exit ofthe valve, the balls path to its seat is a vertical path from its normalposition until .caughtin the air steam and then directly to its seat.Whenever a long pieceof hose (such as'2fi0or SOOfeet) isbetween thesafety valve land the break the ball s path assumesa fiat arc. Theexplanation .'of this, I believe, is that under-normal circumstances theball is :entirely surrounded by air under high pressure. After-abreakoccurs thfiiDIQ-SSlllfigSllT- rounding :the upper 1 portionof-,the;ball; is quickly reduced relative to 1 that ongthe :lower half,,therefore,:the-highrpressme air surrounding ithe lower half of :the,balllifts the-ball into' the ;low pressure areaabove the ball toga,height-. depending upon therelative change inlpressure. -Inasystern asherein proposed the ruptures -in the air brake system' compare to ,arupture substantially at the valveexit. Consequentlythe phenomenon ofthe right angular path is utilized.

The compartment 5jhas an inclined lower surface: whichwillconveytheballivalve to a valve seat H that is';:placed atzthe junctureofan outletopening i'zwithithe compartment 5. {Thainclined surface I10keeps the ballseated :when the call once moves into ithe I compartmentand therefore the valve will remain permanently closed; until it'ismanually reseated. The outlet opening I2 ahas=-an air hose -l3communicating therewith and thisairhose leads .to a vehicle brakeindicated generall-y-aa C inlFig-ure l. A

' by the suddenturning of the vehicle.

bus D is indicated in this Figure and has an air brake system E. Thesystem has a relay or quick release valve indicated generally at F fromwhich air lines i4 pass to the brake mechanisms C for the wheels l5. Thevalve A is connected to each air line l4 and to a second air line l3that extends from the valve outlet l2 to the vehicle brake. Two of thevalves for two of the rear Wheels extend in a longitudinal directionwith respect to the bus chassis while the other two for the other tworear wheels make angles of fortyfive degrees with respect to thelongitudinal axis of the bus. Additional valves A are placed in the airlines leading to the brakes for the front bus wheels. The valves thatextend transversely to the longitudinal axis of the bus or extend at anangle thereto are the ones that are subjected to various'kinds ofmotions including centrifugal force which tend to cause the ball valvein each casing to move from the compartment 3 to the compartment 5. The.dam or obstruction 4g each valve casing prevents this.

Be o e esc ibin th o e a io o h a e. it is best ;to;state that theinletopening I is large enough at its smallest diameter to permit the ballvalve B to pass therethrough. li'he .outlet opjening i}! is toosrnallfor-the ball to pass therethrough. After the ball is received in thecompartn lent 3, an upsetting tool G is inserted through the outlet endl2:and.is used so-that its cutting edge [6 will form indentations orpro:

J ctiens 1 i h Wa t r t th di me e oftheopening i and preventthe ballvalvefrom again passing out through the.opening. Two orhre bl w a uc b to to f h pro e ti ns and th t ta -ma b W thd n and thepipes l3 and I4connected to the outlet :2 and [the inlet I,-respectively. Both theoutletand inlet aretapped for thispurpose.

.From th re oin de cr t o th va ous pa t Qfthe v ce h eo em en-. e q meb readily understood.

I do not wish to be confined to any particular position of;mounting thevalves in-the air lines. The valves are-mounted asplose tothe quickrelease valve F as possible and act to close the linesl-;3:S,h0uld;anyone of theIn-break or become disconnected from the brakemechanism'C. It is to lie-understood that only the valve connectedtp-the brokenair line-will close while all of the othe v lve wil re n pend' h 'wi p mitthe driver to useall of the brakes with-the exception ofthe one that has its air line disconnected.

In -:no ma .use. th applicatio 9. th b a e pedallb th d vercause-a t flhro e the pipes Hand [3 in the manner shown bythe small arrows at andbin Figure 2. Thepit-A is deep'enougnand thewall da offers sufiicientobstruction to prevent the ball Valve from movin-gintothecompartmentjand closing the seat l I duringthe normal operationof theair brakes.

Moreover, the positioning of the opening or eye 6 in the wall 4aprevents any 'accidental moving of the ball from the compartment 3 intothe compartment 5-due to any swaying or jolting' Words-th comp tmen v weta th ba valve therein regardless of the motionirnparted to the valvecasing by the movements of the vehicle, untiltheball is actually liftedby an in- Thewall lawill prevent the ball.

In other creased flow of air and moved through the opening 6 by the airstream flowing into the com partment 5. The increased air flow is causedby the breaking of the air line 13 or its disconnection from the brakemechanism C and the application of the brakes by the driver which willcause air to flowfrom the pipe l4 through both compartments.

The movement of the ball from the compartment 3 to the compartment 5 isindicated at BI, B2 and B3 in Figure 2. A blast of air is necessary tothread the ball through the needle eye 6. When the ball once enters thecompartment 5 it will not return to the compartment 3, but will remainseated against the valve seat ll even though the brakes are not appliedand air ceases to flow from the line I4. The inclined surface Inmaintains the ball against the seat. Any flow of air through the valvecasing due to the application of the brakes by, the driver will beprevented from passing throughthe outlet l2 because this outlet will beclosed by the ball valve. Some of the air will pass through the bore 9and will issue from the valve casing with sufiicient noise to constitutea warning signal. Any type of air signal maybe used if desired and willreceive the air from the passage 9. It should be noted that the signalwould only be sounded when the air brake is applied and when the ballvalve is in the compartment 5. The driver will therefore be warned whenany one of the wheel brakes is not Working.

Before the valve can again function, the line l3 must be fixed and theball valve B moved from the compartment 5 back into the compartment 3.When this is accomplished the ball valve will not interfere with thenormal functioning of the air brake. At the same time the passage 9 willbe closed by the ball and no warning sound will be made during theapplication of the brakes.

As long as the air line I3 is intact between the valve A and the brakechamber C, the air pressure cannot lift the ball B into closing positionwhen the operator applies the brakes because the air pressure in theline builds up practically instantly and prevents sufficient air flow tolift the ball.

I claim:

1. A valve comprisin a casing having a compartment with a pit forreceiving a ball, a ball normally received in the pit, said casinghaving a second compartment and an opening interconnecting the twocompartments, the opening being large enough for the ball to passtherethrough and communicating with the first mentioned compartment at apoint above the pit, said casing having an air inlet passagecommunicating with the first compartment at a point where the air willbe guided across the top of the ball while the latter rests in the pit,and having an air outlet passage communicating with the secondcompartment adjacent to the bottom thereof, the outlet openin beingsmaller in diameter than that of the ball, whereby the ball will closethe outlet when the ball is received in the second compartment, thebottom of said second compartment extending below said interconnectingopening whereby the ball will be retained in the second compartment topermanently close the valve until manually returned to the firstcompartment.

2. A valve comprising a casing having a compartment with a pit forreceivin a ball, a ball normally received in the pit, said casing havinga second compartment and an opening interconnecting the twocompartments, the opening being large enough for the ball to passtherethrough and communicating with the first mentioned compartment at apoint above the pit, said casing having an air inlet passagecommunicating with the first compartment at a point where the air willbe guided across the top of the ball while the latter rests in the pit,and having an air outlet passage communicating with the secondcompartment adjacent to the bottom thereof, the outlet opening beinsmaller in diameter than that of the ball, whereby the ball will closethe outlet when the ball is received in the second compartment, thebottom of said second compartment being inclined downwardly from saidinterconnecting opening whereby the ball will be kept seated in theoutlet opening until manually returned to the first compartment.

3. A valve comprising a casing having a compartment with a pit forreceiving a ball, a ball normally received in the pit, said casinghaving a second compartment and an opening interconnecting the twocompartments, the openin being large enough for the ball to passtherethrough and communicating with the first mentioned compartment at apoint above the pit, said casing having an air inlet passagecommunicating with the first compartment at a point where the air willbe guided across the top of the ball while the latter rests in the pit,and having an air outlet passage communicating with the secondcompartment adjacent to the bottom thereof, the outlet opening beingsmaller in diameter than that of the ball, whereby the ball will closethe outlet when theball is received in the second compartment, thebottom of said second compartment being inclined downwardly from saidinterconnecting opening whereby the ball will be kept seated in theoutlet opening until manually returned to the first compartment, andmeans for producing an audible signal when said valve is closed.

JOHN A. DANIELSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 10,537 Bassett Feb, 14, 1854248,902 Whitman Nov. 24, 1925 756,282 Rankin Apr. 5, 1904 871,717 LyterNov. 19, 1907 1,518,461 Smith Dec. 9, 1924 1,563,143 Bailie Nov. 24,1925 2,254,990 Blank Sept. 2, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date146,478 Germany Dec. 2, 1903 409,169 Great Britain of 1933

